The raise of Maureen Smith and her Good Luck System
Chapter 86: Less willing to return home

Chapter 86: Less willing to return home

Bianca had given Oliver a helping hand, and she was somewhat smug about it.

She also wanted to use this opportunity to reconcile their former relationship.

So, she didn’t go upstairs after returning home from school and having dinner, but sat on the sofa, watching TV absentmindedly, waiting for Oliver to come back.

Oliver had been very busy with company matters lately, usually not concluding until late into the evening, after ten o’clock.

Due to the gloomy atmosphere at home recently, he had been overly emotional, even deliberately staying at the company until after eleven at night before returning.

He was even less willing to return home today.

On the matter of Nolan’s piece of land, it was true that Bianca had assisted him.

However, Oliver, a mature man of twenty-five, couldn’t help but see Bianca’s intent to use this opportunity to bridge the gap between them.

She was already so excited on the phone and was probably looking forward to touting her achievements to him after he returned home.

It was just a young girl’s mentality.

Oliver didn’t think anything of it. But he was under a lot of pressure.

What Bianca wanted – praise, nurture, and warmth – he was very clear that he couldn’t provide right now.

Whether it was because of his sympathy for his younger sister, Maureen, or Bianca’s little schemes, he couldn’t face her as he had in the past.

On the one hand, he indeed needed Nolan to give up some profits.

But on the other hand, he couldn’t bear to artificially narrow the distance between him and Bianca.

Thus, on the drive home, Oliver was deep in thought, wishing that there would be more traffic lights on the road so he could delay his return.

Ideally, he wanted to come back when Bianca had already gone to sleep, so he wouldn’t have to face her.

But to his surprise, when he arrived home, it was almost midnight.

As soon as his car stopped outside the Smith’s villa, he could see through the floor-to-ceiling windows Bianca waiting in the living room with a book in hand, frequently glancing outside.

Oliver’s scalp tingled instantly.

He hesitated for a long time in the car, feeling a strong urge to drive back to the company.

Before he could start his car again, Bianca noticed his vehicle, her face filling with joy.

Hastily, she stepped out to greet him in her slippers, "Brother." Oliver ingested her cheeriness

=========

That night. Late in the night, Nolan’s father was woken up by his assistant who was flustered: "Mr. Elijah it’s terrible,

Mr. Elvis has unexpectedly returned to the country and he wants to meet you specifically.

His flight is about to land, do I need to pick him up or should you ---" With sleepy eyes, Elijah gripped the phone tightly.

At the mention of ’ Mr. Elvis, he instantly became as alert - as if he’d been whipped awake.

He sprang up in a hurry, dressing himself, "Why would President Elvis suddenly come back to our country?!

Is there a problem with the company or what?!

Tell me his flight details immediately.

I’ll pick him up myself!" Mr. Elvis is the biggest shareholder of Elijah’s company.

It’s fair to say that the company is mainly maintained by Mr. Elvis’s funding! A little leak from those wealthy peoples’ fingers is enough for Elijah’s company to earn quite a bit!

Before this, Mr. Elvis had always been overseas only occasionally joining remotely for meetings.

However, this time he had returned to the country without any prior notice. Is there a big problem with the company?

Mr. Elijah was drenched in sweat while hastily dressing and drove to the airport in a hurry.

After picking up Mr. Elvis, it was evident by his grim face that he hadn’t brought any luggage and arrived in a rush, obviously returning to solve some issues.

Mr. Elijah’s heart sank.

Even though he didn’t know what had transpired, he had a strong sense that something bad happened, and unavoidably stuttered to ask: "Mr. Elvis, wha-, what happened?"

"How would I know what happened?!"

Mr. Elvis was furious and swore: "I’m fifteen hours behind because I was abroad, and just an hour ago, I received news that an investor from Williams’s group was suddenly withdrawing from my main business.

I don’t understand what happened! I inquired after much difficulty, and they only gave me a hint!

So I should be asking you what you have done!"

Mr. Elijah stiffened at Mr. Elvis’s harsh words but was still confused: "But I haven’t done anything recently, all the projects are progressing as per your requirements, everything is going smoothly."

"Are you preparing to sell a plot of land on the golf course?"

Mr. Elvis angrily challenged, "If you haven’t signed the contract yet, don’t sign it.

Terminate this project immediately."

Mr. Elijah was utterly shocked: "Why the sudden termination?

Although this project may not rake in much profit, the collaborator is Oliver, or rather, a subsidiary company of Smith Corporation.

He is a rising star, highly capable, and only one step away from success.

If we terminate now, wouldn’t we be at a loss?"

Mr. Elvis’s stance was adamantly firm: "If we lose, we lose!

Do you think whatever small money you have can compensate for what I’ll lose?"

While Mr. Elijah, was utterly puzzled, seeing the furious demeanor of Mr. Elvis, understood that this was far from a minor issue.

It seemed that this matter might have offended someone of higher rank.

As a result, they exerted pressure on Mr. Elvis, which was subsequently passed down to him! Mr. Elijah dared not slack.

Frightened, he rushed back to

company, tweaking the bidder list and promptly striking off the nearly-contracted Oliver’s company from the list of collaborators.

==========

On the other end, Oliver received the news only when he arrived at the company the next day.

The contract from his Project Four team had been prepared and was to be signed that day.

However, there were no responses to the contracts sent by fax early in the morning, and when they made calls to Elijah Corporation, their staff were very perfunctory, hanging up before getting to the point.

Sensing a change in events, the person in charge of Project Four picked up the contract and personally went to Elijah Corporation, only to be refused entry.

The Manager of Project Four panicked and immediately returned to the company to find Oliver.

Oliver was set on securing the land from Elijah Corporation for his project to proceed to the next phase.

To make matters worse, they had already invested heavily in the pre-development phase.

If they could not sign the contract now, it meant that all the initial investments would go down the drain.

Oliver assumed that Elijah Corporation was playing hardball at the last minute, trying to hike up the price.

But upon visiting Elijah Corporation himself, he discovered a surprising turn of events.

Elijah Corporation wasn’t raising the price. Instead, they were flat out not selling. "Mr. Elijah, what do you mean?"

Even mild-mannered Oliver was exasperated to the point that his forehead veins were bulging, "Are you intentionally sabotaging my company’s project?

You know how much I’ve invested in the preliminary stage - not counting financial cost, the human and material resources invested are incalculable!"

Mr. Elijah, was also fuming. Because of Oliver’s project, he was berated by Mr. Elvis last night.

He argued,

"That’s your business! Business always comes with risks, don’t you get that?"

"If you change your mind at the last minute, who will dare to cooperate with Elijah’s Company in the future?"

"That’s none of your concern."

Mr. Elijah stated, it’s better than offending those higher-ups.

Oliver took a deep breath: "In that case, I will increase the price by ten percent compared to the first negotiation.

I can’t afford to do more, otherwise--"

" Mr. Oliver Smith, haven’t you understood me? I’m halting the project."

Mr. Elijah said, "By that I mean, even if this plot of land rots in my hands, I won’t sell it to you. It’s not about you raising the price."

Oliver was completely at a loss as to how things had turned out like this: "Why? Why would you do this?"

Just talking about it stoked the fire in Mr. Elijah.

Mr. Elvis didn’t let Mr. Elijah tell Oliver the reason, so Mr..Elijah vented his anger on the fact that his own ungrateful son made him a laughing stock in front of the biggest shareholder in his company: "You’d better ask your sister what kind of love potion she fed my son with.

He even dared to steal my tender documents. My son is a spendthrift, and by the look of it, neither is yours any good."

Having heard this, Oliver immediately assumed it was a personal grudge.

Did Mr. Elijah resent Bianca’s exploitation of Mr. Elijah, and therefore deliberately played him?

When Oliver returned to the company, his complexion was ashen.

He strode back to his office and slammed the door shut.